addicted

We have a confession to make. We kinda overdue (pun intended) it when we head to the library. I have been to 3 libraries in one week. We can't seem to control ourselves when it comes to books. There are way too many of them.  You just never know what you will find while you randomly browse. 

Landon has a suitcase dedicated to the library. Last week he took out 87 books. Love those libraries with no limit. Today I had to make 4 trips to my car. I was by myself but ended up with books for the boys. When they discovered them in the back of my car there was much excitement. They have arguments over the books.  How can I argue with that?  We did figured it all out though.

People often ask how I keep track of all those books. Thanks to technology, they have a little computer elf that send reminders as to when and where they are due. We take books out from all over our state.  When I say we are going to a new library there are great cheers from the back seat.

The boys will spend most afternoons reading.  I am in love with that.   So we are addicted and I hope it never stops.
 

last day gifts

Today was our last day at the Apple Blossom class the boys have been taking for the past 6 weeks. It seems like they just started. Time certainly is flying by. I can't say that I have too much to show for all that time alone.

But I digress.

Yesterday Landon asked what we were going to make for our teachers. Of course there should be some making but life had taken over and I just was not on top of the ball. So early this morning we made corn muffins. Since I don't keep any paper or plastic in the house I had to be creative in what we should transport them in.  Tea boxes that I had been saving for another craft were going to have to do.  We printed out some cute note cards, then the boys raided the sticker box and my paper supply. They decorated the boxes a bit and walla!, we had a cute little present. It might have been a bit cuter had we I thought if it sooner. But we make do.  








Outdoor Secrets



Every once in awhile I come across a resource that I really like. We don't follow a set curriculum but like to finds things from all different places to use as resources.  For the month of May we focused on this simple nature study. It is from Simply Charlotte Mason.  It is geared towards 1st and 2nd graders because each lesson is just a brief activity. Read a story and narrate it.  Draw a picture. Copy a sentence from a poem. Really very basic. What we chose to do is combine several lessons each day.  We would spend about 20 minutes each morning doing our nature notebook. The stories are older and very sweet.
I loved how the boys took their time and drew some pretty amazing pictures.We read about insects, plants and animals. Many we already knew much about but there was some new learning going on as well.  It was a nice way to begin our morning. Something we will continue using books from our library.

weekending




Some swimming, parades and just plain living.

days of quiet

I am going into quiet mode for a few days to really connect with my family.  Enjoy the long weekend.

wrapped in Old Glory










We went to see a local baseball game last night. As a group of homeschoolers we were invited to unfurl the Flag on the field.  I had done it last year and it was pretty neat. This year the honor was given to Eric.  The boys were excited to have Daddy out there with them.

play ball






My little man is enjoying playing his first season of ball.
He hits, runs and fields with such concentration.  Such fun to watch.

abstract expressionism

We discovered a group that meets once a month to make artist trading cards. After the boys took their 12 week class at co-op they were hoping to find more people to  trade with. This opportunity cam along at the perfect time. We went to the meeting last week and learned about abstract expressionism and made our own cards using colored chalk and rice.  It was a fun hour, we made some new friends, plus traded lots of cards.


Sunday Smiles


Life Lessons from Cheescake


 One of William's favorite series of books at the moment is Geronimo Stilton. He has been reading them for awhile now and loves that at the end of each book there is some type of activity or recipe. He discovered this one for chocolate covered cheesecake and begged me to make it. 

I have never made a cheesecake before but thought why not give it a try. I had a spring foam pan from my mother, brand new just waiting to be used. This is where my lessons began.  What I remember isn't always true. I did at one time have a brand new spring foam pan but in my midst of simplifying I got rid of it. My reasoning was that I had it for over a year and never needed it. Well now I did. 

So lesson one- make do with what you have.  All I had was a round cake pan. I figured we just wouldn't take the cake out of the pan, instead just taking it out like a pie.

Lesson two- more than two ways to solve a problem. The recipe called for chocolate wafer cookies. I searched our local grocery stores but they were nowhere to be found. I used chocolate graham crackers instead.  It should all taste very similar.

All was going well. Everything was coming together. Then I put the mixture into the pan and it was overflowing. I suppose the spring foam pan is a bit deeper. But I just put a cookie sheet underneath to catch any drippings. 

The cake baked well. However, as I was watching it, it started to look a bit weird. 
This is the biggest lesson we learned from the cheesecake that day.

Appearances aren't what they seem.

 Looks rather unappetizing doesn't it? 

William was a bit upset. He thought I ruined the cake. That is wasn't what he thought it was going to look like. I should have used the proper cookies for the crust and why didn't I have a pan.  I could have gotten angry for such a sassy boy, but I kept my cool.

I explained how it was still the same ingredients(minus the chocolate cookies, but chocolate graham crackers are yummy just the same).  I told him he certainly did not have to have any. Daddy, Landon and I could eat it all. I told him how he hurt my feelings for saying such things. After all this was the first time I ever made one. And that we all make mistakes sometimes. Mine not being having the proper pan.

He chilled out and gave it a try. Was it good! They all begged for more. It was difficult to get out of the pan but the taste was all that mattered.

While eating the cake we had such a wonderful discussion about how not to judge something or someone just by the way they look.  We also talked about how not to dismiss something until you try it. Truly  life lessons that they will remember. 

You know the phrase  "Don't judge a book by its cover."

Next time though I think I will use the proper pan. Probably will make it a whole lot easier.



when it rains





why not build a fleet of aluminum boats?

the big top






The boys and I met some friends in our capital city last Friday for the Circus. It was the first time we have ever been to a big event in a stadium, let alone the circus.  It was quite a show and they were so overjoyed by the excitement of it all. Watching their faces light up as the acts were performed was so cool.  It was definitely a memorable moment. Something we don't too often, which makes it quite a treat.

mama's day hike







A day spent discovering and picnicking.

A day spent together.

Just us. Being.

Seeing. Living. Loving.

Just where I want to be.

Forever and Always.
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...